The Blog
Like the way we think about travel?
This is where we work it out: routes and rhythms, the ethics of a cheap flight, the right way to miss a train. If it lands, Mise en Place is the same voice once a month, and the My Life in Burgundy waitlist is open.
Browse our articles…
Southern Burgundy: The Churches, the Chardonnay, and the Charolais.
(17 minute read)
Southern Burgundy is the department of Saône-et-Loire, an hour south of Beaune and a fraction of the price. A full guide: some 250 Romanesque buildings including Cluny, Tournus and Paray-le-Monial, Mâconnais Chardonnay and Côte Chalonnaise reds bought at the cellar door, Charolais beef and Bresse chicken, where to base yourself, how many nights you need, the best months to come, and how to arrive by TGV.
The Apéro Scale
(5 minute read)
In France, the word apéro covers everything from a glass of rosé before dinner to fifty people in a garden at midnight. Here is a Beaufort-style scale for telling them apart by what is on the table, what is in the glass, and whether anyone has plugged in a grill. Plus the Burgundy spread of gougères and jambon persillé, the three cassis drinks, and a word on the pace.
The Two Weeks Burgundy Goes to Work
(9 minute read)
The vendange is the two or three weeks when Burgundy stops being a wine region and becomes a farm racing the clock. We picked Pinot Noir for a Givry domaine in 2025: the clippers, the hills, the long lunch, the paulée at the end. Here is what the harvest involves, why premier cru is still cut by hand, and what it means for anyone visiting Burgundy in September.
A Field Guide to France's Train Stations: Vibes, Snacks, and Mild Existential Dread
(7 minute read)
A frequent rail traveler's honest, firsthand field guide to the French train stations we actually use, from Paris Gare de Lyon and Marseille Saint-Charles to Lyon's two, Dijon, Bordeaux, Pau, and the tiny rural halts. Where to be stranded, where to build in buffer, and which one to leave for the mall across the street.